


Deliverance

by orphan_account



Category: BioShock, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Child Abuse, Child Death, Ele is also pretty gay for MJ, Eleanor needs a hug, Eleanor/Peter/MJ/Ned are best friends, Human Experimentation, Hydra (Marvel), Implied/Referenced Torture, Other, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre- Avengers: Infinity War, Protective Steve Rogers, Rapture (Bioshock), Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, friendly to everyone, this girl deserves friends her age
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 15:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11581299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rapture: the metropolis on the bottom of the Atlantic. There had been rumors about it since Tony was a kid. In the 80's, tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theory nuts preached about it on radio and T.V. shows. Sure, he tuned in before his dad shut them off, ranting and raving about Andrew Ryan, the millionaire owner of Ryan Industries who mysteriously disappeared along with others after the Second World War, but he had never believed it, though. It wasn't real.However, booting up an old, rusted glass chamber discovered in a S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouse leads to the resurrection of the youngest looking sixty-eight year old ever with connections to Steve's former flame, who claims that not only Rapture is real, but they're making Hydra look like choir boys. It doesn't help when little girls all over the East Coast of the U.S., Canada, and England start going missing. With the Avengers back together, it seems fitting that their first mission is to go to the forgotten city, send it down to it's grave once and for all, and bring the missing girls home.What they find changes them forever.Also, there are a bunch of seriously creepy kids convinced Tony's their 'daddy', and Steve can't get enough of it.





	Deliverance

_ New York City, New York  _

_ June 15th, 1968 _

_ The Staten Island boat graveyard was a smuggler's paradise; a decomposing, horrific paradise. Built some thirty years ago before the war, this was where boats went to die. The whole place was littered with the corpses of old steamers, tugboats, and even scrapped naval ships. Best part was that no one ventured out to investigate or noticed anything suspicious, most were probably too afraid to. Sure, the occasional dumb-ass teenagers went out to fuck on a rig or spray-paint some dumb shit to show off, but that was nothing. Making noise was enough to scare them off with their tails between their legs. Cops didn't even bother coming out here- they probably didn't have the balls.  _

_ If you're going to smuggle little girls, this was the shipyard to do it. Sure, you could hide the brats in the numerous shipping crates, but there was always a chance your client was getting a bunch of dead kids. You need them alive if you want to make some good dough.  _

_ It's not hard to get children and teenagers to come with you; tell the kid you got candy and the little bitch you're going to make them a star, or that they can meet their favorite actors and actresses, and they fall like putty in your hands. That's what they told five-year-old Cindy Matthews. She was going to meet Big Bird. Kid was obsessed with Sesame Street, even carried around a Big Bird plush toy wherever she went. The brat had been thrilled to death, completely oblivious to what was going on, until they stopped at the shipyard. Now, they were stuck dealing with a screaming and whining all night long. God, the boss better arrive soon.  _

_ "Can someone get that bitch to shut the fuck up?" Fred cried as he looked up from Playboy magazine. "Jesus Christ, I'm getting real sick of hearing her."  _

_ "Don't do anything rash, man," Gil replies. "If anything happens to her, we're going to be losing out big time, and the boss ain't going to be happy. You want to piss off the boss?"  _

_ Before the other can reply, there's banging from the locked room of the tugboat they threw her in. The little girl's screaming so hard her voice is going raw. "I've listened to this for four hours now. Wish I brought earplugs. Come on, there's gotta be something we can do." _

_ "Like what? You got any chloroform on you?"  _

_ Fred got up from the old, rusty booth and began to rummage through the cabinets. He pulled out a brown bottle. "You're lucky I always come prepared, man. Here, get me a rag-" _

_ "You even know how much to give her?" Gil asked as he eyed the anesthetic nervously. "I mean, Jesus, we could kill her." _

_ "Just give her enough to knock her out. She's a kid, so it can't be too much. We're not drugging an elephant here, come on."  _

_ The other man sighed and handed him a dirty rag from his pocket. This wasn't an ideal situation; they never let their emotions get too much in the way of work, but it was hard dealing with children. Their smuggling business usually consisted of them dealing with drugs and occasionally an exotic animal or two, but recently the boss had gotten them into the human trafficking business- said their clients were paying much more. They were going to hit it big time. Boss wouldn't tell them anything other than that. They didn't want to know, either. The less they knew, the better they could sleep at night.  _

_ In an hour or so, their kid would be gone and join the numerous others on milk cartons, never to be found. Perhaps, she'd get a couple news specials and books based around her disappearance, maybe even a dramatized movie if she was lucky, but soon Cindy Matthews would be nothing but a distant memory. Her parents would never forget her, but the public would, and hopefully, they could too once they got their pay.    _

_Fred dabbed some of the liquid on the cloth before screwing the lid back on. "You know what I'm going to do with all the money we're going to get?"_

_ "What?" _

_"I'm gonna get me a nice trophy-wife." He put his hands to his chest. "A whore with the biggest tits. She's gonna give Cynthia Myers a run for her money."_

_ Gil rolled his eyes. "Nice."  _

_ "Well, what are you you're with the money, asshat?"  _

_ "I don't know. Maybe, I'll get out of here and start my own operations."  _

_ Fred scoffed. "I don't know why you'd leave now, man. The money's just getting good-" _

_ "No," a high-pitched, British accented voice echoes. "I think he's onto something."  _

_They both raise their guns, glancing around the compartment frantically. That wasn't their boss; the boss was a gruff, 6'2, three-hundred pound Italian-American man. This was a girl- a young one at that. Damn kid, she was going to call the cops and fuck them over!_

_ Fred scowled and ran a hand over his beard with a free hand. "Go home, girlie. Go home and forget this ever happened, and we'll let you leave this place alive."  _

_ "Oh no, I'm so scared," she teased. "How about you give me the girl, tell me about your boss, and you might come out of this without any broken bones."  _

_ "That ain't happening, sweetheart. We're being serious here, kid. You got fifteen seconds to leave before we fill you with bullets." Gil called out. Was she seriously going to take them on? Damn, this girl must have had a death wish or was seriously fucking stupid. Must've watched some old clips of Captain America and thought she could play hero, too. She wouldn't be the only one who tried and ended up dead in a ditch, nor would she be the last.  _

_ For a few moments, besides the muffled screeching of Cindy, there's silence. You could have heard a pin drop. Finally, Fred slowly lowered his weapon, motioning for his partner to do the same. "I think she got the message," he began, somewhat anxiously.  _

_ "You think she'll call the cops?" _

_ "Shit, man," he slumped back in the booth, "I don't know and I don't want to wait here much longer to find out." He tapped on his knee. "Fuck! The boss better get here soon."  _

_ Gil made his way over to a broken window and watched the still waters of the Hudson. The only light visible was that of the moon. They still had some time at least before the police boats showed up to make a quick getaway if they had to. It wasn't an ideal situation, but he'd rather lose the cash than go to prison. Hopefully, the boss would hurry his ass up and they could dump the brat on him. "Hey, Fred, we still drugging the kid?" he asked as the shrieking began to die down. "I think she's falling asleep, thank God." Damn, it got cold all of a sudden- must have been a breeze coming in. He rubbed his arms. Normally, these boats are like an oven, especially in the middle of June. _

_ His partner said nothing. _

_ "Fred?" _

_ No reply. _

_ He swallowed. "You alright, man? You didn't bail on me, did you?" Gil hesitantly turned around. "Fred-" _

_ Ice. There was ice everywhere. Half the room was completely covered in crystals, making it look like a goddamn winter wonderland, which was impossible. It-it was June. Gil's breath hitched as he put his hand down on the cold, desperately processing how this could have happened. When he met eyes with his partner, his jaw dropped. Fred was nearly encased in ice; only his nose was left out in the open.   _

_ "Fred!" He ran to him, slipping. "Oh, Jesus Christ! What the fuck happened to you?" _

_ There was no response. The other's mouth was frozen in mid-scream. And as Gil leaned forward to attempt to chip him out, he stared back at his reflection, and behind him, he saw a green light. He whipped his head only to find himself face to face with a monster. A monster that suspiciously looked like an old diver. Gil reached into his pocket for his gun, but the creature lifted its hand, and ice flew from its fingertips.  _

* * *

April 19th, 2020

Avengers Facility, New York

It had been a year since the Avengers gotten back together, six months since Tony had helped get the rogues pardons, and two months since most of them moved back into the Avengers facility. God, Tony could never stay mad at Steve for too long. He had that way of flashing his perfect teeth that made you want to punch him in his perfect teeth, but on the other hand made you want to wrap him around in a blanket, hand him a cup of hot chocolate. Poor Thor and Bruce had came back to Earth in the aftermath of a civil war without a clue of what was going on, but it was through them that they found common ground. Tony was definitely coming to them if he got into problems with Pepper. If godhood didn't work out, Thor had the potential to be a wonderful marriage counselor. Apologies had to be made on both sides, and so they were. 

Tony was sorry for trying to kill Bucky, and Steve was sorry for keeping the information that Bucky was responsible for the death of his parents. Well, not really responsible- the poor bastard had been brainwashed and tortured mentally, a shell of his former self, but he did kill them. Neither was right, but neither was wrong either and in the end, the world needed the Avengers together. It's like what Optimus Prime said "United we stand, divided we fall," or something along those lines. 

So, he invited both Bucky and Steve and everyone else into the tower, and surprisingly they accepted. Poor T'Challa was probably getting sick of them at this point, and after putting up with them for so long, the least he could do was get them out of his hair. It was actually kind of nice having them around. He missed having arguments with Steve over trivial nonsense like slang and pop-culture and not over Accords and his murderous, assassin friend. Said assassin buddy was harmless now thanks to Wakanda tech, kind of like a puppy. A puppy who had the capability of being a one-man army. Wouldn't hurt a fly, though. No more trigger words to send him into a frenzy. The guy actually had some emotion besides giving the evil eye; he actually laughed and smiled. 

That's from what Tony saw from a distance, though. Bucky barely talked to him. He and Steve were completely inseparable, and even then, they usually hung out in a little clique with Sam, Nat, Clint, and sometimes Wanda. Most of their conversations were just awkward, brief questions about their day or something about the weather. It always went back to the weather. What else was there to say, though? 'Hey, so I totally tried to kill you, but do you want to catch a movie?' didn't come out right, and 'sorry I killed your parents, but the Cubs won the World Series, isn't that crazy?' sounded worse. As long as they weren't trying to kill each other, Steve was content. There was still some tension between the other members, but they were getting back to normal, slowly.

He and Clint were kinda buddies again, that was nice. In fact, the archer was currently in his lab right now, trying to wheel in a tech dinosaur. This had to be from the forties- fifties at the very latest- and it was huge. Thing had to be over ten feet tall, five feet wide, and at least five-hundred pounds. Hell, with the way Clint was struggling, probably even more. It was a dusty, rusted glass chamber with large wings coming out from the side. Though barely visible due to the decay, Tony could make out faded words on the lights at the top of it: Vita-Chamber. 

"Oh, what the hell is this?" Tony began with a frown. "Let me guess, you found it at a garage sale?"

Clint shook his head. "Nope, they found this old bad boy buried in  one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. warehouses." He grunted as he tried to push it. "F-Fury wanted you to look at it for some reason. Wouldn't tell me why. I think the thing's a hunk of junk myself- God!"

"Hey, hey, don't pull your back out, man." Tony motioned a robotic claw to come forward and take the v-cart from the other. "The missus would have my head if you came back busted up." He smirked. "She seems like the type that's scary as hell when pissed." Kind of like Pepper.

"Let's just say you're lucky you didn't meet with her after you locked me up, Stark."

"Oh, Jesus, yeah." he ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair. Well, this was getting into awkward territory. Time to change the subject. "That's over, though, Barton. Let's talk about this monstrosity here." Tony pointed to the Vita Chamber. "What am I looking at?"

"It's called the Vita Chamber, and that's all I know." 

Tony's brows furrowed. "Seriously?"

"Fury wouldn't tell me anything. Hell, I don't think he even knows himself." Clint threw his hands up. "One of our agents found it while going through one of our old warehouses and he just got super interested in it."

"Must be important then." Tony put a hand on his chin. "Either that, or it's garbage, but I guess I'm the one to find that out, huh? I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D's personal mechanic here, though."

"I know, I know, we owe you big time," Barton said. "If there's anybody here that can look into this thing, it's you." 

"You flatter me, Barton."

"Can it, Stark. Everyone knows stroking your ego is the best way to get your help." 

That was true. Tony did like his ego stroked, he couldn't deny that, and right now, Clint had won him over. Of course, he was going to look at this Vita-Chamber anyway. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and he had a secret soft spot for old, retro technology.

"I find it weird that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have anything on this." the older man knelt down and inspected the Art Deco engravings on the side. "I mean, they're normally on top of this stuff." He looked up at Clint. "What if this is a weapon of mass destruction or something? I swear to God, if I activate this, and it blows me up, I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your life, Barton. Gonna strategically place little Nate's Legos throughout the house so you step on them." 

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, look at this thing, Tony. No way is this is a weapon. Besides, with three kids, you get used to stepping on Legos, so that's not going to work." 

"I'll just flush the toilet while you're taking a shower, then." 

"Okay, Tony, you do that," Clint said before turning away. "Anyway, I got to go-"

"What, you're not staying? Don't you want to know what this is? Oh God, this really is a bomb isn't it-"

"I'm taking the kids to the beach. It's been forever since I've spent time with them." There's a pause. "And I don't want to miss any more special moments, Tony." 

Tony crossed his arms. "You're seriously still pissed about me locking you up? How many times do I have to say I'm sorry, huh? This is, like, the fifth time now-"

"Fourth. I missed my son's first birthday." 

"Okay, and?"

"Jesus, you wouldn't understand," Clint replied with a glare. "You don't have kids. His dad wasn't there for him."

"He was one!" Tony cried. "Who the hell even remembers their first birthday? You've been there for all the rest, so who cares?"

"I'm sure he would've liked me there, Tony." 

"Listen, if your kid hates you because you weren't there to watch him shove his face in cake when he was a baby than he's got issues." 

"Whatever, Tony," the blond waved him off as he made his way out of the lab. "If I'm not back by the weekend, Nat will get it off of your hands."

Tony traced his finger on the glass. "Take your time," he said before cringing at the amount of dust on his finger. He grabbed a rag and started wiping it clean. "I want to really look this over. Oh, and have fun!" he called as Clint left. "Wear plenty of sunscreen. Red is not your color!"

And with that, the doors closed, and he was alone. Immediately, he called for F.R.I.D.A.Y to blare some AC/DC and got to work. Getting the dust and grime wasn't too hard, not when you got robotic assistants. No, the hard part would be getting into this thing and figuring it out. But, he was Tony Stark. No piece of tech could stump him. He'd win her over; she'd be a tough nut to crack, though. He'd have to butter her up, take her to the movies, maybe even play hard to get to change the tide, but he'd unlock all of this old girl's secrets. 

She was a thing of beauty, though. Oh, she was an oldie, but a goldie. The gold Art Deco designs on the sides and wings were carefully, perfectly sculpted, and the velvet cushioning inside, while somewhat torn, must have been gorgeous back when it was in its prime. Maybe, he'd get this thing redone, and if it didn't work, at least it'd look nice next to Steve's retro Coca-Cola machine. He'd get a kick out of this thing-

Actually, maybe ol' Cap even knew what the hell this thing was supposed to be. It wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility given the age of it. Besides, it takes a dinosaur to know a dinosaur. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you take a picture of me in front of this and send it to Steve for me?" he asked the AI.

"Of course, Mr. Stark-"

"Oh, but I'm gonna pose for it, okay? So, I'll tell you when to take the picture." 

"You have such a flair for the dramatics, Mr. Stark."

He shrugged. "Hey, it's one of my defining traits." He grabbed his sunglasses off the table, put it on, and leaned back against the Vita-Chamber with crossed arms. "Okay, take it."

"Done. May I ask what that pose was supposed to be, exactly." 

"I call it the indie band," Tony replied. "Now, I want you to send it, but text: cool dude with a cooler machine. Got it?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"And then can you maybe ask him what this is supposed to be, please?"

"Already done." 

He grinned. "How could I manage without you?"

"You wouldn't," she chuckled. "I do appreciate the compliments, though." 

"No problem." He put a hand on his stomach. "You know what, before I tackle this, I'm gonna get something to eat. I can't work on an empty stomach." 

"You do that, sir. I believe Thor went on a grocery run this morning and brought back some pizza rolls. You might want to get some before they're gone." 

Tony's eyes widened and he bolted out the door. "Oh God, those heathens will go right through em'. Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y!" 

One of the downsides of living with about nine people was that food went, especially the good kind, went very, very fast. He had forgotten what it was like having so many people around after the big 'civil war' and exactly how annoying it was to see Steve go into his ice cream, or Wanda eating the last of the Tastykakes. Don't even get him started on Thor, Jesus Christ! That guy could, and would, eat them out of house and home. He slowed down his pace as he entered the living room and did a double take when he saw Wanda sitting on the couch with Vision, his arm around the young woman as she rested her head on his shoulder. 

Scarlet Witch and Vision were somewhat of an odd couple; she was a former Hydra agent and energy manipulator, and he was an android. Better love story than Harry Met Sally and Twilight, though the latter wasn't much of an accomplishment. The sexual tension had been there since they first met when Vision was born, and over time it just sort of oozed out all over the damn place. Before the 'civil war' it was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. He cared about her. It was the reason why he had screwed up and shot… 

"Look at you two lovebirds," Tony smirked as the couple turned their attention from the movie they were watching on to him. "It's like watching your kid go out on a date, I'm so proud." That got an annoyed scowl from Wanda. "What movie are you watching, huh?"

The android blinked. "It's called Sharknado. It is about a tornado made out of sharks that wreak havoc on Los Angeles, but this man has the ability to cut through them with a chainsaw." He frowned, his brows furrowing. "It is a bizarre movie. None of it makes any sense." 

"That's the point, though," Wanda smiled. "It's not supposed to." 

"Yeah, do yourself a favor, for the sake of your brain, and turn it off. This is a stupid movie, it knows it's stupid, and you're supposed to laugh at it." 

"Ah, I see," Vision said. "Human beings have an odd sense of humor."

"That's one of our hallmarks, we laugh at stupid shit." Tony made his way to the kitchen with his back turned. "I'm gonna leave you two alone, now. I'll be in the kitchen. Call me if you need anything, though. You know, snacks… condoms?"

"Go away!" Wanda cried, chucking a throw pillow at him. All Tony had to do was step to the side and avoid it; he snorted when Vision started to stammer about reproduction. If the poor guy wasn't already red, he'd look like a tomato. He got flustered over nearly everything, but when it came bumping uglies? You really lost him. 

Well, he did his part of ruining their moment. Now, come his name. Tony strolled into the kitchen, stopping when he saw the fridge wide open. Oh goddamn it. Standing in between him and his glorious snack was James Buchanan Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, the murderer of his parents, who was currently guzzling down some orange juice straight from the carton. The older- younger?- man had no clue he was behind him. Tony could make a quick getaway and come back later, or he could ask Barnes to move and start a painfully awkward conversation. 

Fuck it, he was hungry. 

"You know there are other people in this house who drink orange juice," he sarcastically begins. The super-soldier's eyes widened as he slowly turned his head towards him, his lips still touching the carton. "No, no, continue. I don't want any, but you know, Bruce is gonna kill you if he sees you doing that shit. Might Hulk out on you." 

Bucky nervously coughed in his fist and put the orange juice down. "Sorry. It was nearly empty, and Thor got more while he was out-"

"Hey, I'm just joshing you, man." Tony patted his back. "Relax." 

Bucky said nothing and only stared. Tony found himself doing the same for about fifteen seconds. Yep, this was uncomfortable. He imagined the Jeopardy think music playing in the background, waiting for one of them to break the silence. 

Finally, Barnes shuffled over to the left. "You need to get into the fridge?" 

"Yeah, thanks." He knelt down and grabbed the Totino's box. 

"They're good." 

Tony chuckled, nodding. "I'm addicted to them." 

Pepper, Thor, someone please come in here. Bucky put his hands in the pocket of his sweatpants and blew some strands of his shoulder-length brown hair out of his face. "So, how's your day?" 

"You know, it's alright. Yours?" 

He shrugged. "Steve and I are going out to the movies tonight."

"What are you guys seeing?" 

"The new Star Wars." 

Tony raised a brow. "Oh, didn't think you two were the sci-fi types. Have you seen the others?"

"We watched most of them with Sam. Even the one with Jar-Jar." 

"I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." 

Bucky blinked again. "What?"

"I-It's from Attack of the Clones. You know, Anakin's sitting out with Padmé and he just goes on this rant about sand and I'm going to stop now because you don't know what I'm talking about." Tony looked down at the pizza rolls and cringed. Great, he earplugs like Peter now. The kid was really rubbing off on him. 

"Okay." 

Was he just going to stand here and watch him? Did he have anything else to do? This was throwing off Tony's appetite. God, he knew he should've just waited for Bucky to leave. He needed to get back to this Vita-Chamber, too-

Wait a minute, Steve wasn't the only dinosaur among the team. Cap was an old man, it'd take forever for him to text back, and even then it'd be an annoying, grammatically correct paragraph that would make Tony want to throw his phone at the wall. Seriously, Steve's texts were like essays. He had always been impatient. Why wait for Steve when he had someone from the forties right in front of him, eyeing him as he placed his Totino's down on a paper plate. Hell, they could bond; maybe wind up talking to each other like normal human beings. Steve would love that.

Tony puts his snack in the microwave before turning to the other. "Hey, so I have something really cool and really old in my lab that I'd think you would be interested in. You want to check it out?"

"You've never invited me in your lab before." Bucky's mouth is an o shape. He squints, his brows furrowing. He was on edge, staring the millionaire down with pursed lips. He only truly trusted Steve, Sam, and Nat, and after the battle in Siberia, probably thought that this was a set-up. That Tony would finish the job. 

Sensing his uneasiness, Tony raised his hands. "Hey, I just wanted to show you this. You'd really think I would hurt you, buddy?" He paused. "Scratch that. It's time we got to know each other a bit. We've shared a space together for what- two months- and I still don't know a thing about you besides what Steve tells me." He grinned. "Always goes on about how you're a good guy." 

"What is this thing exactly?" 

"Just wait for my pizza rolls to finish and I'll show you. This thing is ancient, though. I'm thinking that if anyone knows what the hell this thing is it's you, gramps. Just don't tell me long, boring stories about the good ol' days. I get enough of that from Rogers." 

For the first time, Bucky laughs with him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a couple Bioshock/Marvel crossover fics and all of them are so good. One in particular, Nitrogen Narcosis is one of my favorites, but it's not finished. Eleanor as an X-Men or Avenger and them finding out about all the horrible things that went on in Rapture is so good, y'all. I just had to do it. Doesn't help that most of the Bioshock lore fits in pretty well with Marvel.
> 
> I feel like it's so hard to find any fics of the team together Post Civil War that doesn't have them be ridiculously OOC and I didn't want to go through the drama of getting them all back together, so here's a bit of a time jump to when they inevitably all get pardoned and come back together. There's some tension still, but they're making it work. The whole gang needs to be here to take on Rapture.


End file.
